Tv Payday For Story May Be Slim For Theresa Jackson

November 8, 1987|By LARRY KELLER, Staff Writer

Even before she was convicted on three felony charges in connection with her daughter`s suicide, Theresa Jackson and her lawyer were mulling the prospects of selling movie and book rights to her highly publicized story.

Jackson could in fact be offered tens of thousands of dollars for her story. But chances are she will see none of it.

Her attorney is in line to collect $150,000 for the legal fees he says Jackson owes him, and the state may go after a piece of the pie as well.

The attorney, Kenneth Whitman, also has plans of his own to make more money from the Jackson case. ``I intend to write my own book,`` he said.

It`s a true story that has enough bizarre elements to make a paperback novelist drool.

Jackson was convicted Oct. 30 of procuring sexual performances by a child, child abuse and forgery. A jury agreed with the state`s assertion that Jackson drove her daughter, Tina Mancini, 17, to suicide in March 1986 by pressuring her to dance nude in bars and forging her birth certificate so she would appear to be old enough to legally do so.

The trial made news around the world. Jackson, 40, was the first person in the United States charged with mental child abuse in connection with a suicide, and hers was the first criminal case in which the results of a ``psychological autopsy`` were allowed into evidence.

Witnesses testified that Jackson and Mancini dabbled in the occult, with Jackson undergoing exorcisms and conducting seances and Mancini trying to have out-of-body experiences.

Whitman, who is acting as Jackson`s agent, said he hopes to select a producer to whom he can sell her television movie rights by Thanksgiving, before Jackson is sentenced on Dec. 3. Jackson has been ordered placed in a private psychiatric hospital pending sentencing.

Whitman said that at least 10 production companies have contacted him, but that some are no longer interested. The News/Sun-Sentinel has been able to confirm that six companies, including major names such as Aaron Spelling Productions, The Landsburg Co. and Warner Brothers Television Productions have expressed interest in the story.

Whitman said he is seeking a minimum of $150,000 for Jackson`s movie rights. Three producers who were contacted said that figure is unrealistic. All said that $50,000 is a more typical figure to be paid.

``What usually happens in these things is people have grandiose ideas and then they get educated and come down`` in price, said a producer who is ``actively pursuing`` the Jackson story. ``Right now, he`s shooting for the stars.``

Typically, a person who sells his story rights gets a small percentage of the fee in advance and the rest when filming begins or when the networks buy the story.

In the Jackson case, producers can rely on public records such as a transcript of the court proceedings and depositions if no agreement is reached on her rights. But by purchasing the rights, they have more latitude in how they depict her and protection against being sued.

Whitman said he had received no inquiries from literary agents or book publishers.

Should Jackson sell book rights to her story, she could reasonably expect to receive between $25,000 and $75,000, said New York literary agent Lois De La Haba. ``It could be a very intriguing book,`` she said.

But regardless of how much Jackson could get for her book rights, Whitman wants his payment off the top. He has a lien against Jackson that will enable him to collect her revenues until his legal fees are paid. He says his client owes him more than $150,000 -- more than she is likely to be offered.

He may have to fight the state for the money, however.

Florida is one of 41 states with a ``Son-of-Sam`` law, nicknamed for the statute adopted in 1977 in New York to prevent serial killer David Berkowitz from making money from his story.

Florida`s law, also enacted in 1977, requires that 25 percent of a convicted felon`s movie and book proceeds be paid to the felon`s dependents and 25 percent to the victim of the crime and his dependents. The remaining 50 percent of the proceeds can be tapped by the state to pay various court costs and the expenses of incarcerating the convicted felon in a state correctional institution.

In Jackson`s case, the victim is dead and had no dependents. Jackson has two sons, ages 17 and 21.

Should Jackson be sentenced to a state prison, it would cost about $33 a day to house and feed her, said a Department of Corrections official. A year`s incarceration would cost more than $12,000.

The law says that the state`s lien against the convicted felon`s earnings shall have priority over all others, but attorney Whitman says he should be paid first.

``There`s no question in my mind my the lien would take precedence,`` Whitman said. ``She`s got an obligation first . . . to the party she owes legal expenses.``

``It might have to be answered by the courts,`` said Tom Hillstrom, special assistant to the state attorney general.